The invention relates to chairs for boats for fishing for big game fish by rod and reel, and to a bracket used in the chair.
Boats for sportfishing for large game fish by rod and reel typically are furbished with special chairs called fighting chairs. These chairs are made to provide various features of use and convenience for the person doing the fishing (hereafter referred to as the fisherman), who typically hires the boat for the excursion. Generally there will be one or more members of the crew tending to the fisherman, particularly when a fish has been hooked and the battle to bring it in is underway. During this struggle the crew must provide in a variety of ways for the aid and comfort of the fisherman. Likewise, the captain of the boat, at the helm on the fly-bridge above and forward of the fighting chairs, must closely observe the fisherman, the fish and the line leading to the fish, to decide how to best maneuver the boat during this period.
Such fighting chairs typically involve a seatback or backrest that can be tilted from a normal upright position to an intermediate tilted-back position or removed entirely off the chair and stowed, by one or more members of the boat's crew. This generally is done after a strike is made and the battle to land the fish has begun.
This backward-inclining or removal of the seatback during the struggle to land the fish serves two purposes. It allows full freedom of forward and backward motion for the fisherman fighting to land the fish, who typically rocks his or her upper body forward and back through a large angular range, while holding the fishing rod more or less integrally with the upper body. The rocking backwards motion hauls the fish closer to the boat, while the rocking forward allows the line to be reeled in with less tension on the line and less force by the operator on the rod and reel than without the rocking motion.
The second purpose served by removing the seatback is due to the typically cramped quarters on the boat and the level of activity demanded of the one or more members of the crew while the fish is being landed. Again, this aid requires some intense activity by the crew, and a close watch by the captain on the fly-bridge who must keep a close eye in several directions. By removal of the seat, the crew are aided in these efforts, and better service generally is provided to the fisherman, but a problem arises with where to temporarily store the seatback, where it will be out of the way and not damaged. Also, usually at least one crew member is needed to remove the seatback, which causes a distraction from the attention being paid to the fisherman at a critical time.
After a strike is made and the battle is on, the captain generally stands facing forward, in able to watch the fisherman and the line over his shoulder, or the captain stands at an angle from the forward direction, to keep the fisherman more squarely in view while also keeping an eye ahead. However, in either case, the back of the captain's own chair typically is in the captain's line of sight to the fisherman below and to one side of the captain, thus interfering with the captain's view of the fisherman.
In the above scenario the fisherman was considered to be sitting or reclining in the fishing chair with the seatback in the upright or possibly in the intermediate position, holding the rod in expectation of a strike. An alternative but also typical scenario is different in that what is referred to in the trade as a rocket launcher is also attached to the chair, in which case the fisherman does not take his or her place in the chair until a strike occurs and the rocket launcher is removed out of the fisherman's way. The rocket launcher is a support for holding a plurality of fishing rods, which have been baited and the lines of which have been paid-out to simultaneously trail behind the boat as it trolls in search of fish, in hopes of a strike. After a strike is made on the line of one of the rods, the other rods are stowed and the rocket launcher is removed and stowed.
Thus, in the prior art, either the seatback or the rocket launcher must be removed and stowed after a strike occurs. Also, in the prior art arrangements, the rocket launcher cannot simply be rotated backward and down, while remaining connected to the chair, since the leg support extending diagonally down and forward from below the back of the chair is in the way in the usual configuration.